Li Yu (937-978), the last emperor of the Southern Tang (937-975), was also the
master of ci (lyrics with a much
more fluid form than those used by the great Tang
poets). He styled
himself Chongguang. His hometown was Xuzhou City (in today's Jiangsu Province),
or Huzhou (in today's Zhejiang Province) as another saying. Also known as Li
Houzhu, he was the sixth child of Li Jing, Emperor Zhongzhu, and came to the throne in 961.

The Southern Tang had sworn fealty to the
Song Dynasty (960-1279) in the later period of Emperor Zhongzhu. Surrounded by
erudite civil servants and beautiful courtesans, Li Yu led a carefree life of
luxury and indulgence. At last his country was destroyed by the Song and he
himself was exiled to the new capital Kaifeng, where the emperor Zhao Guangyi,
Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, poisoned him. A fatuous and incompetent
emperor, he scored prominent achievement in ci. Meanwhile, he was
uncommonly talented in calligraphy, painting, music, poem and
articles.

Li Yu's ci was divided into two
periods by his surrender to the Song in 975, respectively with different styles.
His ci of the early period had already showed his extraordinary talent
and outstanding skill. However, the subjects of his ci were of narrow
range, mainly representing love affairs in the court. Whereas some works related
to the sadness of parting and lovesickness blended by feeling and settings are
quite readable. In later period, the emperor was reduced to a prisoner. Living
in humiliation, he was overwhelmed by the sorrow at the downfall of his country
and sentiment of nostalgia, and has been wearing a woebegone look from dawn
until dark (from Learn by Heart by Wang Zhi). Achievement of his
ci in the later period greatly surpassed that of the early period. To
the tune of The Beauty of Yu and Reminiscence were his representative
works in the later period, mainly expressing his nostalgic feeling towards his
country and the past. Knowing the past had gone, he still cherished the
illusions.

Wang Guowei, the famous scholar of modern
times once said, "With a wider range of subjects and deeper feelings, Li Houzhu
expanded the scope of ci from
'popular' topics, like love and nature, to more serious
matters."

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